On the pseudo-hermiticity of a class of PT-symmetric Hamiltonians in one dimension

Abstract

For a given standard Hamiltonian H = [p - A(x)]2/(2m) + V(x) with arbitrary complex scalar potential V and vector potential A, with x ∈ ℝ, we construct an invertible antilinear operator τ such that H is τ-anti-pseudo-hermitian, i.e. H† = τHτ-1. We use this result to give the explicit form of a linear hermitian invertible operator with respect to which any standard PT-symmetric Hamiltonian with a real degree of freedom is pseudo-hermitian. Our results do not make use of the assumption that H is diagonalizable or that its spectrum is discrete.